The Portsmouth Conglomerate
Lying at the center of the Marasan continants, The Portsmouth Conglomerate is more business than nation, existing only to grow the power and wealth of the Board of Directors and their shadowy overlord, the Chairman. Overview: The Portsmouth Conglomerate is a Corporateocracy/Oligarchy, originally formed by the merchant families living in the town of Portsmouth. After years of petty infighting and corperate backstabbing the 2 major merchant guilds along with 6 independant merchant families united under the flag of the Portsmouth Conglomerate. History: Pre-Conglomeration: The city of Portsmouth itself has existed for as long as anyone can remember. The oldest records show that it was, in its early life, a small fishing village. For a long while, it existed as a rather insular communtiy, but a sudden influx of people, refugees from a horrific event in their far off homeland, caused both the population and culture of the town to swell. As the village grew, the ancient fishing families became wealthier, and added shipping and trading to their repertoire of businesses. However, the sheer multitude of newly-wealthy families caused political and economic strife, with cuthroat competition and inter-family assassinations becoming the norm. Many of the smaller companies and families, unable to call upon the same clout and economic strength some of their richer competitors could, formed into the 2 large pre-conglomeration Guilds; the Portsmouth Trade Union and the South Marasan Merchant Company. The powerful guilds managed to bully and bargain their way into incorperating virtually all business and enterprise within Portsmouth, beginning a bitter and deadly struggle between the two economic superpowers. The Great Conglomeration: The Strife, as the years just before conglomeration became known, was a dangerous time to live in Portsmouth. If you were not a member of the guilds or 7 powerful families, you were a nobody. No, less then nobody; you were a liability, and if you could not be convinced to join one guild or the other, you were a liability that had to be eliminated. It was considered suicide to go into territory owned by the opposite guild without an armed guard, and business was stifled by the aura of fear that sunk over the town. During this time, a man came to the Portsmouth Trade Union with a proposition: a joining with the South Marasan Merchant Company. He was laughed off, and thrown out of Union headquarters. When he approached the South Marasan Merchant Company with the same proposition, he was forced to flee for his life. That night, the heads of each guild were killed in their beds. Along with their wives, children, servants, pets, mistrisses, and hairdressers. In the chaos that followed, the same man managed to convince the two guilds that it was in their best interests to unify, with him at the helm. When told that they could join this new company or leave the town, 6 of the independant families chose to stay. The 7th family never made it to the gates before being cut down in the streets. The man who took over the guilds led the new, enourmously wealthy company in overthrowing the incompetant mayor of Portsmouth, and established the Board of Directors, with himself as Chairman. Government When the guilds took control of Portsmouth, they replaced the town's mayor (who was brought to the main offices and never seen again) with a Board of Directors who each have a vote in matters of state. Not all members votes are equal, however, as they vote using shares in the Conglomerate; those with more money (and thus more shares) have weightier votes. The Chairman of the Board is a rarely seen figure who controls 62% of the shares, thus dictating the actions of the Conglomerate. Holdings: Currently, the Portsmouth Conglomerate owns the Large City of Portsmouth, which lies in South Marasa at the edge of the Marasan Sea. Portsmouth's larger settlements include the Small Towns of Farandaway (the first very first, after Portsmouth) and Crossways, where POUM retains a military base. Other settlements include the Large Villages of Icehome, Highland, Innlaand, Eastermost, and Landsend. The Conglomerate used to control the area north of Icehome, but the eruption of Mt. Helena destroyed the Large Village of Normost. International Relations: Trade: As mercantile nation, the Portsmouth Conglomerate has quite a few Trade Agreements with other nations. The Conglomerate trades with New Moscow, Pais Obrero de Unificacion Marxista, (herby known as POUM), the Cargonian Union, the Mwu Clans, the Mandelorian Tribes, Neo-Sweden, the Garrison State of Centuria, the Magistratum, The Empire of Tzoumelon, Umbra, Pexor, Terrortopia, Vasso Baja, and DieselDictator . The Conglomerate, prompted by the Chairman, was an instigating force in creating GIMP (Greater International Marasan Protectorate) with the goal of promoting trade across the Marasan Landmass. Current members of GIMP are the Portsmouth Conglomerate, Neo-Sweden, Terrortopia, The Magistratum, The Empire of Tzoumelon, Vasso Baja, and Umbra. GIMP's original plan was to unite only the Marasan continants in trade, but globalization has expanded the membership to any nations who wish to join. Alliances: The Conglomerate is currently a member of the Moscow Alliance, the last member to join before the name was finalized. Because of this, it is obligated to provide assistance if the member nations of Moscow, The Cargonian Union, The Magistratum, or POUM are attacked, and likewise gains their protection. The Conglomerate is currently also tied to The Mwu Clans and The Empire of Tzoumelon in an anti-Europa pact, here called the "Rat Pact." War: After the Ratmen of Europa cost The Conglomerate untold thousands in lost income due to their piratical attacks, the Conglomerate was understandably antagonistic towards the nearby nation. The attack by the Mwu Clans on Europa solidified their enmity, and Tzoumelon just plain didn't like the Rat Empire. The Conglomerate has declared war on Europa, along with the other 2 nations of the Rat Pact. POUM, in what seems to be an effort to establish a military presence in South Marasa, purchased the right to establish a military base near Crossways. POUM originally payed the Conglomerate 50g per turn for the privilage, but the Conglomerate's purchase of military technology from POUM nullified this fee. Technology: The Portsmouth Conglomerate believes that while in certain circumstances war may be profitable, it rarely is for the combatants. Because of this and an urge to keep costs down, the Conglomerate kept no standing armies and had only advanced military technology to the point where it possessed crude weapons and simple armor for Phalanx armies. After the Europan Pirate attacks, The Portsmouth Conglomerate deemed defenses to be too low to protect the Conglomerate's interests, and created 1 army at Icehome and constructed 6 navies at Portsmouth, which were upgraded to Simple Ships. Looking at the length of time required for other nations to build up to Master-Crafted weapons and armor, the Conglomerate simply used some of its considerable wealth to aquire the technology from POUM, in exchange for 12000g, a promise not to desert the Moscow Alliance or harm POUM in any way, and any future secrets of naval technology. The Conglomerate, considering an educated, competant workforce to be a quality investment, constructed the Portsmouth University of Engineering and Economics. In its early history, the University believed that certain superstitions pertaining to magical powers were true, and attempted to make a study of them, but found that "magic" is nothing but hokum. The delve into the mystic was not entirely a waste, however, as attempts to utilize alchemy discovered that certain materials react a certain way with other materials. This new "chemistry" is being looked into. The Stat Block: Cities: 2400 Trading Partners: 750g Military Forces: -700g Total Income per Turn: 2450 Technology: Master-Crafted Phalanx Armor Master-Crafted Phalanx weapons Accomplishments: The Portsmouth University of Engineering and Economics and not Magic, located in Portsmouth The Coffers: 16350g The Mwuen Bank: 6400 (+200/turn) Category:Nation Category:Empire Builder 2 Category:Empire Builder 2